Coup de Grâce
by Rolling Tomorrow
Summary: As the journey went on, the group found it harder and harder to believe that King Richard could truly be saved. At the end of every day, only one person could remain adamant in the search for his salvation. RichAss Week Day One.


Coup de Grâce

There was something he needed to come to terms with.

He tapped his finger against the edge of the letter, reading the words yet again, rolling the thoughts around in his head. They swirled incessantly, unable to stop and allow him to truly focus on anything else. He knew that the person who wrote the letter was still out there – somewhere, deep within the king who took to the skies on the wings of a monster.

"You've still got that?"

Asbel jumped at the sound of the voice from the doorway and looked up to see Cheria peering inside. He went to hide the letter instinctively, but resisted the reflex; she had already seen it, hiding it would only be suspicious.

"Yeah…" he trailed off, "I forgot to leave it at Lhant Manor and I didn't want to throw it away."

Cheria nodded sympathetically. "It doesn't sound like it's from the same person we're seeing now."

"There's a reason," Asbel sighed, "I'm sure of that much."

"Hubert may not agree," she said quietly. "But I agree with you, Richard wouldn't do these things without a very good reason."

She smiled and shifted her weight from foot to foot, as though she was considering coming in the room, but she did not. He returned the smile, albeit it tiredly, and folded the yellowed letter back into its envelope.

"Dinner's almost ready though, you should come down," she said, her voice returning to its usual cheerfulness.

"Thanks, Cheria," he said, forcing a lighter tone.

After dinner was finished, Pascal insisted that Asbel accompany her to buy desserts. Hubert was not particularly thrilled with the idea, chiding that they should just rest, but Pascal was adamant that something sweet would at least boost Sophie's mood.

"I say we look for banana flavored ice cream," she announced.

Asbel trailed slightly behind her. "Do they even make that?"

"There is ice like _everywhere_ here," she said, waving her arms around at the snow falling around them. "They should have it in every flavor of the rainbow!"

"Does Sophie like banana though?"

"Gee, dad, you should know," Pascal said as she hopped around to face him.

The joking title only made him feel worse about the situation. "Why don't we just look for something chocolate?"

"Mmm…chocolate banana then," she said, still walking backwards. "Maybe with marmalade on top."

"…Does that go together?" he asked lamely.

"It's fancy! Dessert doesn't have to just be whatever stays on a stick. Didn't Richard teach you anything about proper royal desserts?"

"I can't say we had all that much time for desserts," he said, "we barely spent any time in Barona."

"Still enough time for the dessert of each other's sweet lips," she said airily as she turned back around and hopped forward.

Asbel mentally convinced himself that he misheard her. "Come again?"

"Oh, I know you just can't believe how well I know you!" she said brightly.

Asbel sighed and trailed after her halfheartedly. As much as she enjoyed having fun with him and Richard, the commentary was bittersweet at best when the latter was not around. She seemed to notice the way his demeanor became sullen and pointed a candy store out to create a distraction.

~oOo~

Traveling in the snow the next day led to Malik bringing up the rear of the group with Asbel while Pascal and Hubert took the lead. As she was the most familiar with the cold mountains, Pascal hopped cheerfully on ahead to be their guide. Though her willingness was appreciated, Asbel found her enthusiasm and quick pace tiring.

"You know that we lost a valuable chance when you didn't make the final blow," Malik said, his voice low.

"What?" Asbel asked blankly. "You mean with the last snowman monster…?"

Malik looked at him oddly. "I'm talking about King Richard at the World's Eye."

"Ah," Asbel said, his expression flattening.

"I know that it's difficult to make that final blow, but I know that you practiced that at length," Malik lectured, his voice taking on the detached tone of an instructor. "All of the best knight candidates did. You were one of them."

"I know, Captain," he said stiffly.

"Then you should have seized the chance," Malik said firmly. "Or at the very least, if you couldn't, you should have let me."

"This is Richard," he said, "I'm not going to take any final blows, we're-"

"Look at Sophie," he interjected. "Isn't the fact that she can't even walk proof that it's time to let go of that idealism?"

"Killing Richard isn't the answer," Asbel said stubbornly. "Even if you won't consider that we can still save him, think about what the reaction would be in Windor."

"It wouldn't be the first time they had to cover up the details of a king's death," Malik said dismissively.

"It's not the answer," he repeated.

"It wasn't a short fight that brought him to his knees, it took a long time. You can't miss the chance to end this next time."

Malik evidently assumed that continuing the conversation would only lead to more protest from Asbel and strode faster, up to the front of the group. Asbel started to hasten his pace to catch up with the captain, but he only took two faster steps that caused his feet to sink deeper into the snow each time. He returned to a walk, deciding that Malik was right about at least one thing; they would not see eye to eye on this matter.

Later in their travels, it became Asbel's turn to carry Sophie. She felt oddly light on his shoulders, even though he had been carrying her for quite some time. Her head lolled against his shoulder listlessly while her arms were limp around his neck. He found himself worrying about all of the little things, like if the blanket was wrapped around her snugly enough, or if her usual gloves were warm enough for the colder weather.

"…Asbel?"

Her voice caught him by surprise and he turned his head to look at her. She did not stir in the slightest and her voice was so low that he started to think he only imagined it.

"Sophie, are you awake?" he asked softly.

"Mmm…" she mumbled. "Did you see Richard when I was asleep?"

Asbel hesitated momentarily. "No, we haven't seen him."

"Do you…think he's looking for us?"

He found himself even more uncertain of how to respond that time. _Is she worried that he's around after what he did? Or is she still just worried about him?_ After his conversation with Malik, he truly was not sure if he was still the only one holding on to hope for Richard's redemption.

"I don't know," Asbel replied lamely, choosing the neutral answer.

"He doesn't have anyone to take care of him after the fight, does he?" she questioned. "I'm luckier with all of you…"

"He'll be alright," Asbel said reassuringly, trying to disguise any bit of doubt in his voice. "You will be too."

She mumbled something unintelligible and he wished that he could take her hand, but both of his were occupied by carrying her. Even though he was supposed to be the one comforting her, knowing that he was still not alone in his concern for Richard was consoling.

~oOo~

They were outside the intimidating tower at the heart of Zavhert when Hubert grabbed his brother's arm and pulled him away from the group. Resigned that whatever was coming would not be cheerful, Asbel allowed himself to be dragged along by his younger brother. In a way, it was somewhat ironic to see Hubert being the one doing the pulling for once.

"Brother, there is something we need to discuss," Hubert said shortly.

"What?" Asbel asked, suspicious of what the topic would be.

"King Richard," he said stiffly, as though the name evoked such distaste that it made it difficult to utter. "I know that Captain Malik tried to talk to you, but I do not believe that it did much good."

"Going over it again won't help," Asbel said, suddenly feeling tired. "This is about saving Richard, not killing him."

"And if you're the only one who still sees it that way?" Hubert challenged. "What will you do then?"

"Sophie still believes that we can save him," he said quietly.

"I do not want to be harsh, but Sophie can't even see right now," Hubert said irritably. "This _cannot _get to a point that we can no longer work together as a group."

"You're making it like there's no other way to stop him."

"And if there isn't?" Hubert demanded.

Silence fell between them and the younger of the two brothers slid his glasses up the bridge of his nose. The light glinted off of them at just the right angle to obscure his eyes from view, hiding any anomaly in his enigmatic expression.

"Since I know you aren't the fastest to make choices, I'll leave you with that thought," Hubert said brusquely.

The flaps of his military uniform waved behind him as he marched after the rest of the group. Asbel stayed stationary for a moment longer, disappointed but still unwavering in his decisions. Not even his own brother could sway his resolve.

~oOo~

When Fourier laughed, it was a cold and bitter sound that hinged on mocking. Asbel stayed still with a serious expression, waiting for her to finish. She arched an eyebrow at him skeptically, evidently having thought that he was joking when he insisted that he could still save Richard. The rest of the group was at the far side of the lab or had already left the room.

"You're still going after him? Really?" she asked coldly.

"Of course," Asbel said, "I'm not giving up on him."

"Is your head too thick to realize what he's done? Or do you just understand that little about the valkines?" she demanded as she crossed her arms.

"It's not just about the things that have happened recently," he said stubbornly, "I'm not going to condemn him just because of that."

"Just because the freak drained all of the eleth from Fendel's valkines? Do you realize that not even Zavhert is going to have enough eleth for heat, never mind all the other towns?"

"They're trying to repair relations with the other countries, so-"

"So Windor is nearly out of eleth as well!" she interjected. "Even if whatever figurehead King Dick has in place decides _'oh, let's be besties with Fendel',_ it won't do any good for the people. Not to mention my lab, I'm going to lose months of work if there are too many power interruptions."

"Doesn't the country keep eleth stored?" he asked, grasping at straws to make a good argument.

"We don't _have_ enough eleth just to store for a rainy day," Fourier sighed as she marched toward one of her test tubes. "Portions of my lab are going to be shut down and all the homes in Velanik are going cold. If it were up to me, I'd relish in being the last one to stab that wretch."

He wanted to argue more, to defend Richard, but picking at her disrespectful choices of words would be feeble when she argued on behalf of the people. No one still saw Richard as himself; he was just perceived as a king overwhelmed by newfound power.

Asbel could not let go of the memory of standing on the hills outside of Barona and listening as Richard, then a young prince, spoke of his desire for peace. He still remembered feeling as though it was one of the first times that Richard truly opened up to him and spoke to him without trepidation.

He still believed that wish for peace was still alive somewhere.

~oOo~

Richard closed his eyes and rested his head against the wall, feeling the darkness grow over his skin. The sensation was oddly cold and made him ache down to his blood. It sprouted from the wounds he received in the fight. He shrugged out of the torn jacket, struggling with the sleeve that was nearly cut off.

_So how long until they come?_

"It won't be long," Richard replied tiredly. "They'll deal with Sophie first."

There was no reason for him not to speak aloud. Not even one soul was still at his side to listen to him. For once, the king could converse with that dark voice in his mind without stifling his replies to refrain from looking insane before his fellow nobles.

_The redhead won't insist that they come to you first?_

"…No," he mumbled bitterly.

_But you would do that for him._

"And he wouldn't for me," he sighed.

_Then why bother dwelling on him? The sooner you let go, the sooner you'll stop being disappointed and forgotten._

"No. We will wait for him," Richard said resolutely.

_We could start and be finished by the time he bumbles his way here._

"I'll still wait," he said simply, "I'll see him again, one last time."

* * *

First of all…hi! I'm Final Hikari, now known as Rolling Tomorrow. :'D

You know you've been exposed to too much yaoi when the phrase 'bring up the rear' no longer sounds generic and wholesome.

RichAss Week Day One! I wanted to use the theme of "devotion" a little unconventionally in this oneshot. Instead of some general fluff and the I'll-always-be-with-you-forever dialogue (which is absolutely charming and can make a fangirl's heart melt) I decided to make it kind of painful. Haha.

Instead of directly showing devotion, I wanted to show it by how they react to others. Hopefully it worked. XD


End file.
